Jan 18 - First baseman Jeff Bagwell is voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame with 86.2% of the vote, along with catcher Ivan Rodriguez, who played briefly with the Astros, and outfielder Tim Raines. It was Bagwell's seventh year on the ballot.

Feb 14 - Pitchers and catchers report to their still-unfinished new spring home in West Palm Beach, FL, dubbed "The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches". The facility is shared with the Washington Nationals as part of the new wave of paired spring training camps.

Feb 28 - The Astros are the visiting team in their first game held at their new spring training home in West Palm Beach, FL. That's because the opponent was the facility's other tenant, the Washington Nationals. The Nats won it, 4-3, on a walk-off home run by Michael Taylor in the ninth.

Apr 05 - Down a run in the bottom of the 13th, George Springer swats a walk-off three-run homer to stun the Mariners, 5-3. Springer earlier plated the other two Houston tallies with a two-run double to give him all five RBIs on the night.

Apr 12 - Perhaps the first sign that this would be a special season, the Astros bounced back from a 5-0 deficit to drown the Mariners, 10-5. Seven batters had extra-hit games, including Jose Altuve with three and Carlos Beltran driving in three. Brad Peacock took his second win in relief.

May 02 - Marwin Gonzalez' grand slam homer caps a five-run eighth-inning rally that stuns the Rangers, 8-7. It was Marwin's second homer of the game. Jose Altuve also went deep.

May 29 - Down 8-2 in the eighth, Houston explodes for 11 runs on their way to a 16-8 thrashing of the Twins in Minnesota. Carlos Beltran leads the offense with four hits but Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa and Marwin Gonzalez each chips in three in the 18-hit attack.

May 31 - The Astros complete a 22-7 month with a 17-6 destruction of the Twins, totaling 40 runs in the three-game sweep. George Springer muscles two homers including a 473-foot blast that just missed the third deck. At 38-16, Houston owns the best record in the majors.

Jun 14 - Derek Fisher hits a home run in his major league debut then smacks an RBI single in the same inning as part of a nine-run outburst that clubs the Rangers, 13-2. Fellow rookie Francis Martes, gets the win in his first big league start, allowing one earned run in five innings while striking out seven. At 45-22, the Astros still own baseball's best record despite a rash of injuries that has devastated the starting rotation.

Aug 31 - In a trade that beat the waiver deadline by seconds, the Astros acquired former Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander from Detroit for three minor league prospects. The Tigers also agreed to pay $8 million per season for the remaining years on Verlander's contract. Behind Verlander's 5-0 record and 1.06 ERA over the final month, Houston closed the year on a 20-8 run to post a 101-61 mark, one shy of the 102 wins of the 1998 squad and winning the American League West for the first time.

Oct 05 - Jose Altuve smashes three home runs to pace the Astros to an 8-2 triumph over Chris Sale and the Red Sox in Game One of the A.L.D.S. Alex Bregman homered to start the scoring while Marwin Gonzalez and Brian McCann each drove in a pair to support Justin Verlander.

Oct 06 - Carlos Correa homers and drives in four to pace an 8-2 victory over Boston in Game Two of the A.L.D.S. George Springer also goes deep. Houston leaves town with a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series.

Oct 09 - Houston comes from behind to nip the Red Sox, 5-4, in Game Four of the A.L.D.S. to claim a 3-1 series victory. Alex Bregman homers and Carlos Beltran delivers a key double in the comeback while Ken Giles shrugs off a flukish inside-the-park homer to finish the save.

Oct 13 - Dallas Keuchel twirls seven innings of four-hit shutout ball to silence the Yankees, 2-1, in Game One of the A.L.C.S. at Minute Maid. Jose Altuve produced half of Houston's six hits while Marwin Gonzalez saved a run with a strong throw from left field to nab Greg Bird at home plate.

Oct 14 - Jose Altuve slides across with the game-winner as Carlos Correa doubles against Aroldis Chapman for the 2-1 triumph over New York that puts Houston ahead, 2-0, in the A.L.C.S. Justin Verlander tosses a complete-game five-hitter with 13 strikeouts. Correa had also homered in the fifth for the Astros' only other run.

Oct 16 - C.C. Sabathia and three relievers handcuff Houston on four hits to take an 8-1 verdict over the Astros in Game 3 of the A.L.C.S. at Yankee Stadium. Aaron Judge and Todd Frazier drive in six of New York's eight runs. Houston still leads the best-of-seven series, 2-1.

Oct 17 - New York's Aaron Judge blasts a homer off Lance McCullers that opens the floodgates for a 6-4 Yankee win in Game Four of the A.L.C.S. to tie the best-of-seven series. The Houston bullpen surrenders leads of 3-0 and 4-2 in the process. Yuli Gurriel drives in three for the Astros.

Oct 18 - Masahiro Tanaka combines with Tommy Kahnle on a four-hit shutout of Houston, 5-0, as the Yankees claim a 3-2 lead in the A.L.C.S., needing one win to advance to the World Series. Gary Sanchez homers and drives in a pair to pace the New York offense.

Oct 20 - Justin Verlander hurls seven innings of shutout ball as Houston ties the A.L.C.S. at three games each with a 7-1 victory over the Yankees. Verlander scatters five hits while striking out eight. Jose Altuve homers and drives in three to lead Houston's offense.

Oct 21 - In just their fifth year in the American League, the Astros capture the A.L. pennant with a thrilling 4-0 Game Seven shutout over the Yankees. Charlie Morton and Lance McCullers combine on a three-hitter. Evan Gattis homered off C.C. Sabathia in the fifth to open the scoring while Jose Altuve went deep the next inning. Houston advances to the World Series for just the second time in franchise history.

Oct 24 - Justin Turner drills a two-run homer off Dallas Keuchel to give Clayton Kershaw and Los Angeles a 3-1 decision in Game One of the World Series. Alex Bregman took Kershaw deep in the fourth for a short-lived tie. Kershaw and the Dodger bullpen allowed just three Houston hits.

Oct 25 - The Astros tie the World Series with a come-from-behind 7-6 triumph in 11 innings at Dodger Stadium. Down 3-1 in the eighth, Carlos Correa singles home Alex Bregman against closer Kenley Jansen. Next Marwin Gonzalez ties it up with a homer in the ninth. Solo homers by Correa and Jose Altuve in the tenth put Houston ahead but the Dodgers tie it against Ken Giles. George Springer belts a two-run blast in the 11th then the Astros survive a solo shot in the bottom half of the inning to claim their first World Series game victory in their sixth try.

Oct 27 - Astros ambush Yu Darvish for four runs in the second inning then hold on for a 5-3 victory in Game Three of the World Series for a 2-1 edge in the best-of-seven classic. Lance McCullers and Brad Peacock combine to allow just three hits. Yuli Gurriel homers then is shown afterwards in the dugout making a gesture some believed to be a racial slur against the Japanese star. The result is a five-game suspension to open the 2018 season.

Oct 28 - Los Angeles blows open a tight 1-1 duel to score five times in the ninth, dropping the Astros, 6-2. Joc Pederson's three-run homer off Joe Musgrove was the big blow. The World Series is tied at two games each.

Oct 29 - Some have called it the greatest World Series game ever played. Whether so or not, the 5+ hours of play was like a heavyweight prizefight. Houston took Game Five in ten innings, 13-12, with the Astros coming back from deficits of 4-0 and 7-4 while the Dodgers bounced back from a 12-9 hole in the ninth to send the classic into overtime. The Astros bash five homers (Yuli Gurriel, Jose Altuve, George Springer, Carlos Correa, Brian McCann) yet it is a short single to left by Alex Bregman that plates pinch-runner Derek Fisher with the game-winner.

Oct 31 - Game Six of the World Series is no treat as Justin Verlander fails to nail down the Dodgers and clinch the title. An early homer from George Springer gives Houston the lead but a double by Chris Taylor keys a two-run Dodgers sixth then Joc Pederson takes Joe Musgrove deep for a 3-1 Los Angeles verdict that send the Series to a decisive seventh game.

Nov 01 - WORLD CHAMPIONS!! The Houston Astros take the World Series for the first time in their history with a crushing 5-1 Game Seven triumph in Los Angeles. Series MVP George Springer doubles and homers off Yu Darvish to spark a five-run rally in the first two frames. Free agent pickup Charlie Morton tosses the final four innings in relief for the win after Lance McCullers and Brad Peacock split the first five. Star shortstop Carlos Correa caps the celebration with an on-field marriage proposal.

Nov 16 - Jose Altuve is a near-unanimous choice for AL Most Valuable Player after winning the batting title (.346 average) and leading the Astros to their first American League pennant. Altuve is the second Astro to become an MVP after Jeff Bagwell won the award in 1994 as a National Leaguer.